Gold at life-time high; rupee at four-and-a-half month low

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: In a tale of contrasting fortunes, gold broke all previous records to trade at Rs 29,695 per 10 grams, even as rupee's value against the dollar declined to four-and-a-half month low of 53.41/42.

Gold prices (New Delhi) had been rising for 10 consecutive sessions up to April 30, tracking cues in global markets where alternate investment options like stocks have been steadily declining on emergence of macroeconomic data from US and Eurozone amid a weak dollar.

Analysts have been projecting the precious metal touching Rs 30,000 levels soon. Commenting on rising prices, Lakshmi Iyer, Head of Product and Fixed Income, Kotak Mutual Fund, said, "The ongoing marriage season could have played a role. The rupee fall could have enhanced the value of domestic gold prices, too."

Traders said domestic gold prices raced to record high levels even though globally the yellow metal prices were down.

Meanwhile, continuing its steady fall, the rupee came close to the 54-level against the US dollar intra-day but recouped some losses on suspected RBI intervention. It finally ended at 53.41/42, a hefty loss of 45 paise.

The price of gold is generally inversely related to the value of the US dollar. This means a stronger US dollar tends to keep the price of gold lower.

Spot gold in US today was down nearly 1 per cent at USD 1,638.51 an ounce, having recovered somewhat from its intra-day low of USD 1,625.89. Similarly, US gold futures for June delivery were down USD 15.10 an ounce at USD 1,638.90.

"Demand for physical gold remains in India remains low. The rise in rupee-denominated prices is a reflection of the rupee-dollar rate," said C P Krishnan, whole-time director, Geojit Comtrade.

Internationally spot gold prices eased downwards, moving a in a narrow range underpinned by a downbeat US and Euro zone economic releases, said Iyer of Kotak Mutual Fund.